Spear of Longinus / Holy Lance

Lyrics

[Intro]
They look through the glass.
They cross themselves.

[Verse 1]
I am bound in a sleeve of silver and gold
Right where my iron center snapped in two.
They drove a brass pin straight into my belly
To hold the myth together, to make it true.
I remember the forge and the garrison dust,
The smell of sour wine and sweat in the heat.
I was a standard issue point of the line,
Carried down a long Judean street.

[Chorus]
This is what terrifies me in the dark of the vault:
The weight of the prayers that I cannot bear.
Emperors carried me to conquer the world,
Believing I had some salvation to share.
I am afraid of the halo they forged on my edge,
I was a tool of the state, I was never the light.
I am drowning in glory, I am sick with the awe,
And I just want to be allowed to go quiet.

[Verse 2]
I remember the hand that gave me my name,
He was bored, he was tired, the afternoon bled.
His arm lifted me before his mind made the choice,
A simple mechanical check for the dead.
Just under the ribs. The easiest slide.
I parted the flesh to let the water out.
It was a small, brutal mercy at the end of a shift,
Nothing to sing a cathedral about.

[Bridge]
But then came the kings with their trembling hands,
The conquerors looking for a holy sign.
A silver sleeve added in 1084,
To cover the crack in my Roman design.
If they knew what I was, they would leave me to rust,
Just another dull blade from a forgotten war.

[Chorus]
This is what terrifies me in the dark of the vault:
The weight of the prayers that I cannot bear.
Emperors carried me to conquer the world,
Believing I had some salvation to share.
I am afraid of the halo they forged on my edge,
I was a tool of the state, I was never the light.
I am drowning in glory, I am sick with the awe,
And I just want to be allowed to go quiet.

[Outro]
Another face at the glass.
Looking for a miracle.
I am just iron.
I am just iron that happened to be there.
And I cannot save you.